Around November 21, 1897

On March 30, 1898, Elizabeth Nobles prepared to live her last day on earth. The State had found Nobles guilty of murdering her husband three years prior, and sentenced her to death by hanging the following day. Yet the Twiggs County facility where Nobles was being held received a last minute notice to cancel her execution. Georgia Governor William Atkinson, the only body left with the power to pardon...

It was Christmas Eve in 1896. Two African American brothers, James Grubb and Bud Grubb were making preparations for the holidays in Wytheville, Virginia. The two brothers had been heavily drinking while they were in town. Bud was described as being full up when they eventually returned home. Upon their arrival to their home, Bud began physically abusing his sister at which point James tried to intervene....

On the 12th of July, the operators of 17 mines in Fairmount Country (W.Va.), constituting the Fairmount oil region, gave their miners an advance of 0.05. This increase brings the prices to 40 cents a ton on running coal in effect on July 14th and is 0.13 on the ton more than the Pennsylvania and Ohio men are striking for. This was a very significant move considering the massive strike occurring...

Founded by one of the most prominent educators in the country, Mr. Richard A. Wright, Ware High School was the first high school for African-Americans in all of Georgia. A secondary school for African-Americans, it was seen as symbol of interracial cooperation for many in the community. In 1897 Ware High School was thriving, nearly doubling its number of students and even added an assistant teacher...

On April 25, 1898, the United States officially entered into War with Spain. In the early months of 1898, tensions in Cuba involving Cuban revolutionaries and the Spanish government began to escalate. Following the explosion of the USS Maine, which the Spanish claimed was merely an accident; US President William McKinley was hesitant to begin war and waited on the Naval Court's reports. Questions...

Baseball fans across the U.S have heard of players such as David Ortiz, Satchel Paige, or even Bo Jackson. They are some of the greatest African Americans to step foot on a baseball field. Some refer to them as “freaks of nature” because of their playing abilities. Today in Major League Baseball, about 8.5 % of the players on opening day rosters are African Americans. We all know that there...

From the inception of the Populist party, going back to antecedent parties such as the Readjusters and Greenbackers, as well as the previous attempts in the 1880s to fuse the Farmers' Alliances and the Colored Farmers National Alliance, an attempt was made to attract the Negro to the fold using an approach devoid of what C. Vann Woodward calls sentimental liberalism' and romantic...

Through the merger of the National Federation of Afro-American Women (headed by the dean of women at the Tuskegee Institute) and the National League of Colored Women, the formation of the National Association of Colored Women began which would culminate in its formation. Comprised of state and local affiliates, it addressed many social issues facing African American communities. Founded by abolitionist...

The depression of the 1890s was only exacerbated by the weather conditions in the spring of 1896. The drought of 1896 brought a huge setback to the agricultural sectors of many southern states, particularly Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The lack of water caused crucial crops to wither, and brought the economy further into its depression. In Mississippi, the state also faced downpours...

The occurrence of mass mob lynching or by individuals escalated during the decade of the 1890s. The severe racism of Georgia swept away the Bourbon notion of race relations and revolutionized popular attitudes towards blacks.' The violence against African-Americans was at an unprecedented level. The gubernatorial race and the ensuing debates brought the issue of race relations to the forefront...